by Andrew Gates
“Kho Mytak,” he returned, nodding. Vylan met Ikharus’s eyes. “It is good to see you again, Kho Ikharus. My heart was filled with fear when I learned of the attack. Were I not preoccupied on the other side of Fruitful Spring, I would have joined you by your side. I was nearly to the bridge when the evacuation order was given, though these guards assured me that they had the situation handled and that my presence was not needed, so I chose to evacuate myself rather than join you.”
“A wise judgment,” Ikharus said. “If you had not done so, you would have likely perished. You have acted accordingly, Kho Vylan.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
“Unfortunately, you should know that Fruitful Spring flies no longer. It has been destroyed, along with the entire orbital fleet.”
“I am aware, Supreme Chieftain. The enemy was swift and precise. There is no need to hide the truth: the situation is bad, very bad.”
“It is,” Ikharus replied, nodding. He did not know what else to say. It took his best efforts to hold back the memories of the painful sights he had seen in orbit.
“Supreme Chieftain,” said the Kholvari that Ikharus did not recognize. The stranger bowed.
“You may rise,” Ikharus said, glad to talk about anything else right now, “and tell me who you are.”
“I am called Kho Ynoka. I am the administrator of the undercity. I report to Mayor Kal Kinagoh.”
“And where is the mayor?”
“Preoccupied,” Ynoka answered in vague words. “As you can imagine, your Majesty, there is much to worry about and much to prepare for in this trying hour.”
“Yes, I understand,” Ikharus replied.
“We are taking you back down to the undercity,” Vylan explained. “You will be safe there… or safer.”
Finally someone who uses the proper choice of word.
“Take me quickly. I do not wish to waste additional time,” Ikharus replied.
“Very well, your Majesty. Please, follow me,” Ynoka said. He spun around and immediately took off toward a doorway on the other side of the hangar.
Ikharus followed him, as did his escort party, now accompanied by Vylan and the two additional guards. Ynoka, not dizzy like the others, walked much faster than Ikharus was prepared for, though he managed to keep up just fine.
“This secure hangar is on ground level, though it can only be accessed through the sublevel. This hall here will lead down to the undercity,” he said, narrating as he walked. “Everything has been prepared for your arrival. We worked quickly once we heard word of the attack in orbit, though we are few and we can only work so fast.”
“How many staff do you have down here?” Ikharus wondered.
“We have few permanent staff here. Most of the staff you encountered during your last time in the undercity were temporary workers, military personnel or part of the hierarch’s staff. We are scrambling to gather additional staff for your visit here, however long it may be.”
Ikharus did not even have an idea of how long their stay would last. For all he knew, this war with the unknown enemy could last planet-cycles. It could very well be that I never leave this place, he thought, shivering at the idea.
Finally, they reached the closed door at the end of the hangar. Ynoka stopped and displayed the identification in his suit’s wrist to the wall-mounted computer. After a quick scan, the door slowly rose. Ynoka proceeded through first, followed by Ikharus and his escort party.
A familiar damp smell entered Ikharus’s nostrils almost immediately. Everything about these halls was as he remembered; the dim lighting, the narrowness, the cold. In some ways, it was eerie to be back. In some ways, it was strangely comforting.
Despite the familiarity of it all, there was one major difference. The halls, previously so bustling with busy staff or members of the military, were now desolate and quiet. It was like a ghost town.
“I will show you the way to your quarters,” Ynoka said as they walked along.
“No. Take me to the command center. I do not have time to get settled. We need to deal with the situation in orbit now,” Ikharus debated.
“Understood, your Majesty. I shall take you to the command center. Several of the Chiefdom’s generals are already gathered there.”
“Good.” He was glad to know that someone was already on top of the situation.
Ikharus turned to look at Jakhu, who was still walking a few steps ahead of him. It suddenly occurred to him that there was something missing, some unfinished business.
“Kal Jakhu,” he said.
She turned to face him as they continued along.
“Yes, your Majesty?”
“In all the chaos, I had almost forgotten to ask. I never received a mission report from your last assignment. Was your Kreed able to find and secure the civilian, Kal Flokh?”
“Negative, your Majesty. The target’s whereabouts were a mystery. It took most of the day for my team to discover her location. By the time we learned where she was hiding, we were put on high alert. We had no time to secure the target.”
“She was hiding? Why?”
“I do not know, your Majesty. Our leading theory is that she may have felt that some in the Chiefdom suspected she was involved in the late Supreme Chieftess’s assassination, so she hid herself for her own protection.”
“But she was not involved in the late Supreme Chieftess’s assassination.”
“We know this, your Majesty.”
Kal Flokh is scared. She is running, but she does not know who she is running from, nor why. I must find her. I must help her. Ikharus recalled the soft smile of the civilian builder. She was so kind, so innocent. She did not deserve to live in fear.
“Do you know where she is now?” Ikharus wondered.
“Assuming she has not moved since the battle in orbit, yes. She is here in T’Dakho. Even if she has moved, it is likely she has not gone far. I do believe we can find her.”
“Good. Now that I am secure, take half of your team and bring her here to the undercity. Leave the other half of your team here for my protection.”
“Understood, your Majesty. I shall take Kal Ezenkharam and Kal Ukhrani with me. It will be easier on the civilian if she is met by fellow females. We do not want to intimidate her.” Jakhu waved her left claw, prompting Ezenkharam and Ukhrani to peel off from the group. “Kho Kozakh, Kho Evirak, you two shall stay with the Supreme Chieftain. Protect him with your life. May you succeed where others would fail. We shall be in touch via comm.”
“May you be swift and efficient in your efforts, Squad Leader,” Evirak said as the female members of Scion took off in the opposite direction down the hall.
Ikharus took comfort in the knowledge that Kal Flokh would soon be safe and secure. That would be one less thing for him to worry about.
The remaining party, all male, continued onward for several more minutes, winding through the halls of the maze-like undercity until they finally stopped before a door secured by two black-armored guards. The guards immediately bowed when they beheld Ikharus and his party.
“You may rise,” Ikharus said.
The two guards straightened their backs and stepped aside, allowing Ynoka to open the door again using the computer in his suit’s wrist. As soon as the door reached its full height, Ynoka motioned inward. Ikharus was the first to enter, followed by the rest of his party.
Nobody seemed to notice as the Supreme Chieftain entered the command center. Generals and their staff busily studied data on monitors or holographic projections, paying no mind to the world around them. Ikharus was glad to see it. Their focus was in the right place.
The command center was wide and sizable, yet packed from end to end with Kholvari. Small holograms and monitors lit up the space, but the largest holographic projection filled the center of the room. It was easily 10 times larger than the others. It displayed the image of Kholvari-controlled space, or what used to be Kholvari-controlled space. Now, rather than a fleet of Chiefdom ships maintaining geosynch
ronous orbit, a swarm of small interweaving enemy ships crisscrossed around the largest sea of debris Ikharus had ever beheld. The destruction he now saw dwarfed even the debris field of Vigilant Behemoth.
It almost did not seem real.
Finally, an analyst caught the sight of the Supreme Chieftain and his party. She quickly straightened her back and said, “Your Majesty,” before bowing before him.
The others in the room quickly became aware of his presence now. They each stopped what they were doing and bowed.
“You may rise. Stay on your feet,” Ikharus said, waving to them all with his scepter.
He took a few steps toward the center of the room, his escort party following closely behind.
“Your Majesty,” a familiar voice greeted.
Ikharus turned to face the speaker, General Kal Ri’Khor. She appeared exhausted by the way her eyelids drooped and mandibles hung open, though the tone in her voice showed that she was still just as focused as ever.
“General,” Ikharus greeted. “I am pleased to see that you are safe. I feared that you had perished in the attack.”
“Thankfully, I am alive, though many have fallen,” Ri’Khor said.
“How many?” Ikharus asked, wasting no more time. He wanted to know the status of the situation now.
“The entire Kholvari fleet is gone, your Majesty. All our warships, fighters, orbital command stations, transports, haulers, refuelers, even civilian ships and unmanned satellites. We do not have an exact number, but we estimate total casualties at nearly 19,000 manned vessels of varying sizes, most of them smaller vehicles like fighters, and 57,000 unmanned satellites.”
“By the Chiefdom,” muttered someone at Ikharus’s back.
No one is left alive. Not one. This was not a battle. It was a slaughter.
“And what of the Confederacy? Of the Empire?”
“Also obliterated, Supreme Chieftain. There is no longer a single spacecraft in orbit that does not belong to the enemy.”
Ikharus felt himself shiver at those words. He felt his heart pound nervously.
“It… it cannot be,” Ikharus muttered. It was the only thing he could think to say.
“I know it sounds impossible, your Majesty, but we have combed through the data with great detail. We can confirm that there are no-”
“I… I believe you,” Ikharus interrupted, waving his claw. He lowered his gaze to the floor and closed his eyes. He let out a deep breath.
Ikharus already assumed that space was lost, but hearing the general confirm his theory so straightforwardly was like a bomb exploding in his heart. Like before, he felt like crying, like letting it all out. He did his best to resist the urge, but this time, he could not stop himself. A tear formed in his left eye, then in his right. He quickly let out a gasp for air.
Two claws grabbed hold of him and helped to calm him down. Whoever these claws belonged to, they rubbed Ikharus’s back, comfortingly.
“Please,” Vylan said, “allow the Supreme Chieftain some time. This news takes its toll.”
Ikharus opened his eyes now to find Evirak embracing him.
“No,” Ikharus debated. “I do not need time.” He wiped the tears from his eyes with his wrist and gulped. He had his moment to cry and that was all he would allow himself to take.
A moment. That was all.
Evirak broke the embrace and stepped back to allow the Supreme Chieftain more space.
“If the fleet is destroyed, then we are now more vulnerable than ever before. This is not the time to rest or mourn. There is work to be done,” Ikharus said, putting the poisonous thoughts behind him once again. He turned to face Ri’Khor. “Tell your staff to get back to work. This is not the time to stand idle.”
“Yes, of course,” she replied. She quickly spun around and waved her right claw, prompting everyone in the room to instantly switch back to working again.
Ikharus and the general spent the next several minutes discussing what little they knew about the present situation; of casualties, of remaining resources, of what they had seen and heard. The topic was grim, and the news weighed on Ikharus’s heart with every word. Eventually after minutes of tales that seemed like something from a dark reality, the conversation turned to the identity of the attackers.
“What do we know of this enemy?” Ikharus asked.
“Nothing, your Majesty. That is what makes our enemy even more challenging to fight. We do not know who they are or where they come from.” She paused, then asked, “Do you know anything?”
“I cannot say much, but I think they may have spoken to me,” Ikharus explained. “I had a vision in my mind, but it was more than a vision, more like a message. It was as if they could speak to me through my thoughts.”
“A message? Did they say who they are?” Ri’Khor asked.
Ikharus paused, then looked at those around him. His eyes stopped on Kho Kozakh. Suddenly an idea came to him. It was outlandish, but it was the only thing he could think of.
He could not believe he had not thought of it earlier.
“Kho Kozakh,” Ikharus said, motioning to him. Kozakh stepped forward as Ikharus cleared his throat. “Weeks ago, shortly before the formation of Kreed Scion, you shared a theory with me, a theory that seemed wholly improbable at the time. Do you recall what it was?”
“I do,” Kozakh replied, nodding.
“And what was that theory?”
Kozakh paused for a moment and looked away, as if ashamed to say what he was about to say.
“While I did not have sufficient evidence at the time, and I still do not have it now, I proposed that the Hive may have been linked to the disturbances on Mars and Infinitum.”
Ikharus slowly nodded.
“The Hive,” he repeated in a tone of confidence. “You may not have had evidence then, but I think we have it now.”
Ri’Khor took a step back and let out a gasp of shock.
“The… the Hive? Your Majesty, you cannot be serious,” she replied. “The Hive is not real. They are naught but fiction.”
“It does sound preposterous, I must concur,” added Evirak.
“Hear me out. Preposterous or not, it is the only theory we have right now. We know this is not the work of the Confederacy, the Empire, nor the evolved-ones. The rebel factions do not have the resources either. That only leaves enemies beyond our knowledge. The Sorrevahni believe in the Hive. An entire continent believes in them. Is it truly too difficult to consider that the Hive might be real?”
“I suppose it is possible, your Majesty,” Ri’Khor replied, obviously not fully convinced.
“I know this may be difficult to accept, but it makes more sense than anything else. I also recognize that this theory relies on a great degree of assumptions. That is why, to truly confirm my theory, we will need to learn more about the Hive first.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Evirak asked.
“We need to talk to someone who knows about the Hive. We need to speak with a Sorrevahni.”
Ri’Khor took a hasty step forward and raised a claw.
“Your Majesty, you do not need me to remind you of our relationship with the Sorrevahni. We do not speak to them. We do not interact with them. They are our enemy,” she interjected.
“They were attacked just as we were. They are not our enemy any longer,” Ikharus debated.
“You misunderstand my point. I mean to say, your Majesty, that if we want to speak to a Sorrevahni, we would need to know where to find one. It is not as if they are wandering around the Chiefdom. And the Empire certainly would not want us flying into their continent, entering Sorreveous unannounced, even if we came simply to speak. To arrive in their land would be suicide.”
“That is where you are wrong, General. Our options are not as limited as you may think. There is one Sorrevahni we know the location of, one we can speak to.”
“Who?” Kozakh asked.
Evirak sighed reluctantly, as if he regretted that he already knew the answer.
“Soh Saratti,” Evirak said, finishing the sentence for him.
“Soh Saratti,” Ikharus confirmed. He turned to face the general again. “He is still captive, is he not? Do you know where he is being held?”
“He is still captive, yes. But I confess, I do not know his location. It was Kal Ezenkharam who oversaw his placement into captivity after you and your squad secured him during his attempt to flee.”
Ezenkharam knows where he is, Ikharus thought. Then there is a chance we can find him.
“I hate to interrupt, but I must protest. Is tracking down this prisoner really the best use of our time?” Evirak wondered. “Our fleet is destroyed. We need to regroup and form a battleplan. Instead, you propose we track down an old Sorrevahni general. I cannot help but feel as if this task is divergent from our primary objective.”
“That is where you are wrong, Kho Evirak,” Ikharus explained. He turned to face the soldier. “If my theory proves true, and this enemy is the Hive, Soh Saratti may have the knowledge to help us face this foe.”
Evirak simply sighed and turned away. He had nothing more to say.
Ikharus did not blame Evirak for his brashness. The soldier always had a mouth on him, but coupled with the fear and uncertainty of the situation, he obviously said things he would not have otherwise dared to say to a superior.
The Supreme Chieftain closed his eyes for a few moments, let out a deep breath, then opened them again. His gaze met the gleaming lights of the holographic projection of space at the center of the room, displaying the enemy swarm as it spun through the void. No doubt, with the satellites destroyed, this picture was generated solely through data gathered from surface sensors. That thought was strangely terrifying.
“We must stop them,” Ikharus muttered. “And to do so means we must first understand them.” He motioned to Kozakh. “Kho Kozakh, hand me your helmet. I need to access the comm.”
Kozakh unclasped his helmet and handed it to the Supreme Chieftain, who promptly placed it on his head. Ikharus instantly felt back at home with a combat helmet on. He had forgotten how much he missed the feeling.
“Kal Ezenkharam, this is Kho Ikharus,” Ikharus said through the comm. “Do you read?”